Chapter 157: A Sense Of Crisis...

"I've applied for a voice acting school, and they require me to pass a test before they would even consider enrolling me," Fuyuno replied nonchalantly as she stared at Harunaka and asked curiously, "What about you?"

She's lying. Harunaka thought to herself.

The four sisters have been together since birth, and they understood each other very well.

Harunaka knew that Fuyuno would always stare into the other party's eyes when she was telling lies because she reckoned that this would allow the other party to feel her "sincerity" through her gaze.

She could probably use this to fool others. But unfortunately... not Harunaka. In Harunaka's opinion, Fuyuno was too naive to think that Harunaka would believe her after they had spent almost all their years together.

"And I..." Harunaka's eyes wavered, a habit when she mulled over the question, "After the Kendo competition today, a man from the sports university contacted me, saying that they saw potential in my Kendo skills. They hope that I can improve my academic results together with my Kendo skills. To get the offer, I need to improve my grades."

"Really..." Fuyuno threw a glance at Harunaka but did not break her facade. Instead, she replied, "Didn't the four of us promise to attend the same university?"

"That's a promise we made when we were young." Harunaka looked at Fuyuno wordlessly, "Moreover... do you think we can make it into any university with our current grades? We can only stay at home if we don't improve our grades. So, there's no way for us to experience university life without working hard."

Fuyuno nodded. She's right. But after a little while, she asked again, "What about Natsui?"

Natsui... Harunaka heaved a sigh, "I saw her asking the teachers questions with textbooks in her hands while I was heading to the restroom at school that day. I think she's already started to study on her own. How sly!"

Natsui was actually one of the factors that triggered Harunaka's sense of crisis, and now she even ran into Fuyuno at cram school. If Harunaka was undecided a moment ago, she was now determined to study hard. She intended to speak to her father tomorrow to inform him of her wish to skip the classes at the senior high school as she could not comprehend the syllabus. She reckoned that it was a better idea to fully catch up with the curriculum of the junior high school before she proceeded to the senior high school level.

She would return to school after she has successfully grasped the junior high school syllabus.

Harunaka seemed rather resolute.

Akino was excluded from their conversation because they both had no hope in her.

They sat silently at 'Touch Memory' and focused on the lecture, not exposing the other's lies.

In actual fact, Harunaka suspected that Fuyuno was doing this for Kimura-senpai. But after thorough thought, she reckoned that this was considered impossible.

Senior Kimura spent almost all his time with them, even during meals and on their way home. When they are at the canteen during lunch break, Fuyuno would hardly speak to Senpai, and they were barely friends.

On the other hand, Natsui gave her a sense of crisis.

Meanwhile, Fuyuno listened quietly as her mind ran wild.

Is she doing this for Senpai? Thinking about it, she gently tilted her head as she threw a glimpse at Harunaka, who was in a daze and not paying attention either. It seems like Harunaka has taken a liking to Senpai. If not, why is she here?

Senpai was ranked first in school, and it was almost guaranteed for him to be enrolled in the University of Tokyo.

Even if Harunaka had a crush on Senpai, she might not be able to catch up with him because she also has to attend her Kendo practice. Although Fuyuno had to practice voice acting, it was not as tiring as Kendo.

Besides, Fuyuno thought that her senior was interested in her as well. Otherwise, he would not have introduced her to the voice audition for 'The Sword Saga.' However, he did not show his interest explicitly, probably because of his concern about his academic performance.

If Senpai successfully joins the University of Tokyo and her grades continue to be bad, then she would have no chance with Senpai at all. This is probably the senior's true intention. As long as I can enter the University of Tokyo, I'll have a chance to get together with him.

So, I ought to work hard to keep up and walk alongside Senpai. Fuyuno was unsure if she had really fallen for Senior Kimura. However, she was positive that she was interested in getting to know him further. Moreover, he was an excellent person. It was almost impossible for her to meet another person who was on par with Senior Kimura. Hence, she should not let this chance slip.

Harunaka was slightly impulsive, while Fuyuno was more rational. She wanted to be a part of Senior Kimura's future and saw this as an investment for her own life in the time to come. But, first of all, she needed to prove her own ability to be a good enough partner for the senior. Even if she really began a relationship with the senior, she was afraid that she would be eliminated by other girls who were better than her.

Every time she is reminded of the situation, Fuyuno would be overwhelmed by a sense of crisis. That was why she applied for cram school before Furuhashi Sakurakyu even appeared in her dreams.

Now, both Harunaka and Fuyuno had the same goal, which is to improve their grades while they are still in their freshman years. They have three more years left in senior high school, and they might have a chance to get enrolled in the University of Tokyo if they work hard enough.

But, due to Harunaka's presence at the cram school, Fuyuno felt a sense of crisis.

While Harunaka and Fuyuno were in a stalemate, Kimura Kazuki had arrived at the Yagyu Kendo Gym.

Of course, he was there to coach Yagyu Shizuka. He was very astonished to find out that Yagyu Shizuka was managed to memorize all the hundreds of pressure points within half a month. In fact, he never requested her to memorize all the pressure points but only a few significant and major ones. However, the headstrong Yagyu Shizuka memorized all of them.

Didn't she say that she hates memorizing?

Kimura Kazuki was rather impressed. Indeed, everyone could be motivated if they were interested. Yagyu Shizuka was apparently very passionate about Kendo, just like Harunaka. Her potential erupted when she encountered any new knowledge regarding Kendo.

So, when one is not striving to survive, the only other thing that can push their boundaries will be their interest.

Undoubtedly, one's interest trumps everything else.

When Kimura Kazuki entered the Yagyu Kendo Gym, several students promptly greeted him loudly and respectfully, "Kimura-senpai!" Kimura Kazuki gently nodded, walked past the training field, and headed toward the back of the Kendo gym.

Everyone appeared to be very excited as he disappeared from their sight.

"Senpai is so brilliant! He won against Yuki Gyo High School alone against five of them!"

"Hah... How I wish I am as capable as him. Then, it'll be easy to court the girls!"

"I thought you were going to cultivate and cleanse your mind."

"I wonder when we can start learning the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. That's so exciting."

Being students of the Yagyu Kendo Gym, they attended the Tokyo District Qualifiers for the Jade Dragon Flag. They witnessed Senior Kimura's counter-attack towards the end of the game and were all pumped up.

Yuki Gyo High School had a solid team, and this was proven by Kageyama Ichiro, who was able to fight against five alone. However, Senior Kimura's ability was inarguable as he was able to defeat all the students of Yuki Gyo High School.

When Yagyu Shizuka saw him, she jumped on him excitedly and said, "Teacher, please teach me the Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain Style!"

"What's that?" Kimura Kazuki was utterly puzzled.

He was speechless after listening to her explanation. He was not surprised to realize that Yagyu Kenichiro had tricked his daughter once again just for fun. He finally managed to convince Yagyu Shizuka that there was no Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain Style after an elaborated explanation.

Eventually, Kimura Kazuki began to teach Yagyu Shizuka the 'Rainstorm Style.'

Half an hour later, Yagyu Kenichiro arrived. He looked at Kimura Kazuki with a complicated expression, "Kimura-Kun, I have something to tell you."